The sun is shining and it's a beautiful clear, cold day, perfect for a bike ride.

I slept in a comfortable bed with warm blankets and a dependable roof over my head. Bella spent much of the night sleeping curled up in a ball in between Pirate and me. Any time I would brush against her or shift my position, she'd purr for a couple of breaths before falling asleep again. Penny spent the night at ankle level, keeping our feet warm.

There's a warm cup of Teeccino sitting next to me, steaming gently in the chilly apartment air.

The fridge is full of good, wholesome, mostly organic, mostly local vegetables, and tomorrow is vegetable box day. The pantry shelves are stocked with tasty ingredients including lots of dried fruit and veg, some of which I dried myself, and the freezer is crammed with nuts (and raw foodfor the cats). There's a Celebration Roast in the fridge and various tasty-sounding raw dishes in planning.

I'm madly in love with my husband, even though he makes me want to bang my forehead against the wall fairly regularly. (Like now. Gee, a documentary on the evils of capitalism is exactly what I want to be listening to right now.)

Yesterday was a gorgeous day for riding around in SF, and we got to have coffee with rimrunner and her sweetie.

Pirate and I both got new backpacks at the Chrome store in SF yesterday. It was a chunk of change, but we're both feeling much better about winter now that we've got rainproof and weatherproof packs (no more stuffing a garbage bag around and on top of the pack's contents to try to keep things dry). They're well made and nicely designed and feel very secure on one's back. Plus, while I was looking at mine in the store, the sales guy said, "Oh, that one's a limited edition — we only made 25 of each size in that color scheme." Score!

Bella is wigging out and can't decide whether to wrestle with the Smile zafu or kill the CAT-Aerobics toy. Penny has been bringing me cat springs and insisting I throw them for her to fetch. They both keep getting sweeter and sillier and more companionable and more affectionate by the day and I feel so incredibly lucky that we got to bring them home from the shelter.

We'll probably go out for a bike ride later. Since it's a holiday, the streets are likely to be emptier than usual. It should be a nice day for exploring Oakland.